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La Mama Theatre (Melbourne)
Encyclopedia
The La Mama Theatre is a theatrical venue located at 205 Faraday St, Carlton
, Victoria
. It opened in a former factory building on 30 July 1967 and still operates today under the direction of Liz Jones.
The theatre, an initiative of Betty Burstall, was inspired by the "off-off-Broadway" theatre scene in New York City
. Betty and her husband, film maker Tim Burstall
, had just returned from a trip to New York and wanted to re-create the vibrancy and immediacy of the small theatres there. La Mama was modelled after a similarly named New York venue.
At a time when the production of Australian plays was almost non-existent (and financially risky), La Mama's non-profit organisation provided the venue for the performance of new experimental Australian theatre works.
The first play performed at La Mama was a work by a new Australian writer Jack Hibberd
, entitled Three Old Friends (1967), whose most successful play Dimboola
opened there in 1969. The production of Australian works at La Mama soon became a staple, and within the first two years of its life twenty-five new Australian plays had premiered there.
La Mama also nurtured new works by composers, poets, and filmmakers. The opening of the alternative theatre provided a home base for many important figures in theatre and film including Hibberd and Alex Buzo
. It was also regularly used by underground performance troupe Tribe (who later collaborated with Spectrum
). The theatre's house troupe, the La Mama Group, established by actor-director Graeme Blundell
evolved into the Australian Performing Group.
La Mama's foundation marked the beginning of the emergence of a distinctly Australian style of theatre. La Mama also fostered a pool of talent that would flow on into many areas of the Australian arts -- playwrights, actors, directors, technicians, musicians, filmmakers, poets and comedians. The theatre regularly screened new works by film-makers such as Bryan Davies
, Nigel Buesst, John Carnody, Bert Dehling and John Duigan
, and other notable names associated with the theatre include David Williamson
, Barry Dickins
, Daniel Keene, John Romeril
, Tes Lyssiotis, Helen Collins, Lloyd Jones
, Judith Lucy
and Richard Frankland
.
It is located in a building which was built in 1883 for Anthony Reuben Ford, a local printer. The building has also served as a boot factory, electrical engineering workshop, and a silk underwear factory. The building is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register
.
Carlton, Victoria
Carlton is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. It opened in a former factory building on 30 July 1967 and still operates today under the direction of Liz Jones.
The theatre, an initiative of Betty Burstall, was inspired by the "off-off-Broadway" theatre scene in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Betty and her husband, film maker Tim Burstall
Tim Burstall
Tim Burstall was an Australian film director, writer and producer, best known for the motion picture Alvin Purple....
, had just returned from a trip to New York and wanted to re-create the vibrancy and immediacy of the small theatres there. La Mama was modelled after a similarly named New York venue.
- "I got the idea for La Mama when we went to New York in the sixties. We were poor. It was impossible to go to the theatre - even to see a film was expensive - but there were these places where you paid fifty cents for a cup of coffee and you saw a performance, and if you felt like it you put some money in a hat for the actors. I saw some awful stuff and some good stuff. It was very immediate and exciting and when I came back to Melbourne I wanted to keep going, but there didn't exist such a place. So I talked around a bit, to a few actors and writers and directors, sounding them out about doing their own stuff, Australian stuff, for nothing ... I decided on Carlton because in 1967 it was a lively, tatty area with an Italian atmosphere and plenty of students ... " (Betty Burstall)
At a time when the production of Australian plays was almost non-existent (and financially risky), La Mama's non-profit organisation provided the venue for the performance of new experimental Australian theatre works.
The first play performed at La Mama was a work by a new Australian writer Jack Hibberd
Jack Hibberd
Dr Jack Hibberd is an Australian playwright.-Biography:Hibberd studied medicine at the University of Melbourne, where he resided at Newman College and practised as a clinical immunologist in Melbourne from 1964 until 1973...
, entitled Three Old Friends (1967), whose most successful play Dimboola
Dimboola (play)
Dimboola is a play by the Australian author Jack Hibberd. It premiered in 1969 at La Mama Theatre under the direction of Graeme Blundell. The whole action of the play supposedly takes place at a real wedding at which the actors represent the families of the bride and groom and the audience are...
opened there in 1969. The production of Australian works at La Mama soon became a staple, and within the first two years of its life twenty-five new Australian plays had premiered there.
La Mama also nurtured new works by composers, poets, and filmmakers. The opening of the alternative theatre provided a home base for many important figures in theatre and film including Hibberd and Alex Buzo
Alex Buzo
Alex Buzo was an Australian playwright and author who wrote 88 works.-Early life:Buzo was born in Sydney in 1944 to an Albanian-born father and an Australian mother...
. It was also regularly used by underground performance troupe Tribe (who later collaborated with Spectrum
Spectrum (band)
Spectrum is an Australian progressive rock band that formed in Melbourne in 1969 and, in its original period, remained in existence until 1973. Its members also performed under the alter-ego Indelible Murtceps...
). The theatre's house troupe, the La Mama Group, established by actor-director Graeme Blundell
Graeme Blundell
Graeme Blundell is an Australian actor, director, producer, writer and biographer.Blundell was born in Melbourne; he grew up in Clifton Hill, a suburb of Melbourne...
evolved into the Australian Performing Group.
La Mama's foundation marked the beginning of the emergence of a distinctly Australian style of theatre. La Mama also fostered a pool of talent that would flow on into many areas of the Australian arts -- playwrights, actors, directors, technicians, musicians, filmmakers, poets and comedians. The theatre regularly screened new works by film-makers such as Bryan Davies
Bryan Davies
Bryan Davies can mean either:* Bryan Davies, Baron Davies of Oldham* Bryan Davies — Australian actor...
, Nigel Buesst, John Carnody, Bert Dehling and John Duigan
John Duigan
John Duigan, is an Australian film director.Duigan emigrated to Australia in 1961, having been born to an Australian father...
, and other notable names associated with the theatre include David Williamson
David Williamson
David Keith Williamson AO is one of Australia's best-known playwrights. He has also written screenplays and teleplays.-Biography:...
, Barry Dickins
Barry Dickins
Barry Dickins is an Australian author, artist and playwright.He was born in the Melbourne suburb of Reservoir. Leaving school early he worked in a factory and then as a set-painter for television. Through his association with La Mama Theatre, his first play, Ghosts, was performed in 1974. He has...
, Daniel Keene, John Romeril
John Romeril
John Henry Romeril is a contemporary Australian playwright.John Romeril was born and grew up in Melbourne where he attended Monash University. His first plays, I Don't Know Who To Feel Sorry For and Chicago, Chicago were written while he was still a student...
, Tes Lyssiotis, Helen Collins, Lloyd Jones
Lloyd Jones
Lloyd Peniston Jones was an American athlete. He competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.In the 800 metres, Jones finished third in his semifinal heat and did not advance to the final....
, Judith Lucy
Judith Lucy
Judith Mary Lucy is an Australian comedian, known primarily for her stand-up comedy. She has toured Australia with several highly successful one-woman shows, including No Waiter I Ordered the Avocado , King Of The Road , An Impossible Dream , The Show , The Show 2 , Colour Me Judith...
and Richard Frankland
Richard Frankland
For the nonconformist minister, see Richard Frankland Richard Joseph Frankland is an Australian playwright, scriptwriter and musician. He is an Aboriginal Australian of Gunditjmara origin from Victoria. He has worked significantly for the Aboriginal Australian cause.-Biography:Richard J. Frankland...
.
It is located in a building which was built in 1883 for Anthony Reuben Ford, a local printer. The building has also served as a boot factory, electrical engineering workshop, and a silk underwear factory. The building is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register
Victorian Heritage Register
The Victorian Heritage Register lists places of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 1995 which establishes Heritage Victoria as the permit authority...
.
Further reading
- Jones, Liz with Betty Burstall and Helen GarnerHelen GarnerHelen Garner is an award-winning Australian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist.-Life:Garner was born in Geelong, Victoria, the eldest of six children. She attended Manifold Heights State School, Ocean Grove State School and then The Hermitage in Geelong...
, La Mama: History of a Theatre (Penguin Books Australia, 1988) - Robertson, Tim, The Pram Factory: The Australian Performing Group Recollected (Melbourne University Press, 2001)